When They Boot Your Chef From the Country, You Know it’s Serious
Russia
Ukraine
Michelle Michalenko, the private chef for the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, wrote on Facebook that after 16 years in Russia, her visa was canceled and she was being forced out of the country.
“Today, I wanted to share that due to the escalation in tensions, the Russian government put me on a list, with other U.S. Embassy Moscow diplomats and contractors, of people required to leave the country. Our visas were canceled,” Michalenko wrote on Facebook on Sunday.
“Saying good-bye to my home of 16 years shattered me. Leaving my work kitchen for the last time was the hardest thing I’ve done.”
She talks about her work in a 2015 video.